why I love the net

Periodically I'm going to post about things I find on the net and find funny, fun, useful or interesting.

As a heavy computer user in a cube farm, I nearly always wear headphones to block out the noise of those around me. I love music, but am not in a position to be buying alot of music (and frankly there's not alot out there I want to buy.)

However, live music is a different story. I am a huge fan of live music, especially those artist who I love and who are no longer with us. There's no new albums, and no tours. There are also those classics who its great to hear in their prime.

Thankfully, there's plenty of free (and legal) streaming live music. Here's three of the best

• http://www.archive.org/ which has an amazing live music archive (don't get overwhelmed by the opening page, have a browse around). Including 5,369 Grateful Dead Shows (with their own soundboard recordings and audience tapes). Besides the Dead, I'd recommend the Billy Bragg page, especially his show at the Gene Autry Museum where he plays the songs (music) he wrote to Woody Guthrie's lyrics. Great acoustic performance, and dialogue. You'll also see this site when I get into books.
• A recent find of mine is Wolfgang's concert vault http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/ Wolfgang's vault is legendary promoter Bill Graham's own archive, full of music posters tickets and music. The posters and tickets are for sale, even if you're not buying they're worth a look at the 60's and 70's poster art and photography. But, they're also streaming music from great artists including Springsteen, Neil Young, Zappa, The Who and AC/DC to mention a few.
• http://www.livephish.com/which streams live clips of shows non-stop while also selling complete shows. While their studio stuff can be a bit hokey, their live stuff is amazing. For anyone who wondered what the whole deal with Phish was about, check out LivePhish.
  

I am so thankful to the artists who put their music out there to be enjoyed. I can see how this can only rejuvenate existing fans and create more because many of these artists best work is in front of an audience.

Enjoy.